In August, despite starting the season with excess hay, feed availability and cost concerns lead Mr Gladigau to cull his older dairy cows and some beef cattle. He cut numbers about 10 per cent. If conditions do not improve, he will need to cull again.

“It’s a bit of a gamble about how much of the herd to carry through and how much feed we have,” he said.

“If someone is charging $140 for a round bale and I use five in a day, it gets expensive and there is not a return on that.”

He has also begun irrigating earlier than ever before, to try and minimise risks.

As well as the rising hay costs, he is also concerned about the availability and price of grain in coming months with so much of the state’s crop cut for fodder.

It’s a bit of a gamble about how much of the herd to carry through and how much feed we have. - RICK GLADIGAU

Mr Gladigau supplies milk to Adelaide Hills cheesemaker Udder Delights at a "good price” and says in a year like this, he is grateful for that buffer.

“Had I been on the standard exporters price, I’m not sure I’d still be milking cows,” he said.